Pretending It's a City, The Public Domain, Margaret Atwood, and More
Pretending It's a City, The Public Domain, Margaret Atwood, and More
Seven links to worthwhile thin(g/k)s
Hello dear reader,
At precisely 6 p.m. last Friday, shortly after publishing the previous week’s newsletter, I received some good news: I passed the grueling CA bar exam and am officially an attorney! Later in the week, my judge at work graciously administered the swearing-in ceremony where I took the attorney’s oath. Your kind messages both online and over the phone have been nothing short of supportive and uplifting. A humble thank you. I had forgotten how lovely it is to be in a celebratory mood, and to get to share celebrations with others in a communal sense of (virtual) togetherness. May we always uplift one another and be there to support each other.
And now:
Here are seven links to bits of the world I have been exploring this week, shared with the hope that you will find them to be an inspiring springboard for deeper thinking.
F. Scott Fitzgerald published The Great Gatsby in 1925. Having copyrighted the book at the time, he and his heirs could collect royalties from the book for 56 years (until 1981) and a bunch of other perks (if a production company, say, wanted to make a film on it, they’d have to get permission from the Fitzgeralds, along with licensing fees). After 56 years, anyone in the public could give out copies of the book or rewrite it, etc. etc., without the family’s input. Congress in 1976 extended copyright law. For The Great Gatsby, that meant it wouldn’t enter the public domain until 2001. Under even newer rules, Congress pushed the date to 2021. And here we are. In January, The Great Gatsby entered the public domain. Here’s the staff from Planet Money reading The Great Gatsby in its entirety. Pair it with the wonderful film adaptation starring Leo DiCaprio (or the one from 1974 starring Robert Redford).
Solzhenitsyn’s rather grim “don’t ever be the first to stop applauding.”
I miss New York and cannot wait to return. In the meantime, I’m spending this evening exploring a new series on Netflix called Pretend It’s a City, in which humorist, contrarian and raconteur Fran Lebowitz takes us on a tour of her New York alongside Martin Scorsese. She has a great observation in Episode 2 on talent.
Margaret Atwood on creativity and resilience; interviewed by TIME senior editor Lucy Feldman.
My current read: Harold Bloom’s How to Read and Why
Podcast episode recommendation that blew my mind: the making of emotions
Until next week!
With love / с любовью / Սիրով,
Ani
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